You know it might be time to go home for a while when one night just before falling asleep in your hotel in Phuket you realize you've managed to travel to all 7 continents in 4 months...
// April 20th, 2008 // Comments Off // Morocco, Transatlantic Nov'07
Next up after Casablanca was Agadir, Morocco. There’s really not too much to Agadir except for a beautiful beach area lined with restaurants and cafes. It’s a small city dedicated to its beach. There are no real historical sites, except for a wall from the old fortress. Everything was pretty much wiped out in 1960 by an earthquake. (more…)
// April 20th, 2008 // Comments Off // Morocco, Transatlantic Nov'07
I had decided before arriving in Casablanca to arrange for a guide. Normally I would have gone exploring on my own but there had been some problems in Casablanca a few months before and I didn’t want to take any chances. So, before arriving in Casablanca I had arranged for a tour guide through a recommendation on the Cruise Critic forum boards. While the guide originally recommended wasn’t available, he recommended another guide. At the last minute, the new guide contacted me to let me know that a friend of his would be meeting me and he would catch up with us around lunch. As a member of the Tourism Board he’d been pressed into service because of the shortage of English speaking guides and there were 2 cruise ships in town that day both with mostly English speaking passengers. He assured me his friend would take very good care of me. (more…)
// November 15th, 1996 // Comments Off // Kenya, Passage To Africa
Back to civilization. After three days in the wild Nairobi seemed exceptionally noisy, busy, dirty, and chaotic. Nairobi isn’t all mass congestion, there is a wildlife preserve practically in the middle. I didn’t get a chance to go there, but it’s supposedly a fairly good one. There are also some other unique places in Nairobi like “The Carnivours Club.” A rather legendary restaurant that offers a prix fix menu feauturing roasted – just about anything if it’s not on the endangered species list: Giraffe, gnu, antelope, warthog, zebra… well you get the idea. I just couldn’t make myself go, however I hear that giraffe is the best it’s tender and sweet. I went to Wimpy’s instead (British version of Burger King). (more…)
// November 14th, 1996 // Comments Off // Kenya, Passage To Africa
The countryside past Tsavo gradually goes from the dramatic red and orange earth of Tsavo to a much grayer, less dramatic landscape with the tall grass and less brush. Crossing the plains on the way to Amboseli we were frequently rewarded with the site of Kilimanjaro, however we never did see the top of the legendary mountain that dominates the plains that surround Amboseli. We also passed several native villages and all the children in the villages would run out to the minibuses asking for candy and pencils. (more…)
// November 12th, 1996 // Comments Off // Kenya, Passage To Africa
The one thing I didn’t expect was the vibrant coloring. The landscape glowed in red and orange. The lodge had a wonderful verandah you could relax on and watch the animals drink at the watering hole. The most endearing was a young elephant. It took him over an hour to work up the courage. He acted like a child playing hide-n-seek. Starting out behind a tree 100 yards away, he’d peak around the tree and then go back behind it. After an hour, he finally mustered up the courage to come all the way down to the water. (more…)
// November 11th, 1996 // Comments Off // Kenya, Passage To Africa
Arriving in our last port we are greated by over a dozen enterprising salespeople selling their wares on the dock right beside the ship. This made souvenier shopping incredibly easy – and a lot of fun. Not only do you bargain here, you trade. Half of Mombasa must have pens, soap, shampoo, conditioner and anything else the passengers and crew thought Orient Lines wouldn’t miss from the Marco Polo! This is by far the best place to buy wood carvings 1/4 what they were asking in Djibouti. (more…)
// November 7th, 1996 // Comments Off // Djibouti, Passage To Africa
After several wonderful days at sea cruising down the East African coast we reached Djibouti, a tiny country on the elbow of Africa. I believe our cruise director summed it up perfectly in his Port Talk “I think the only reason we stop in Djibouti is because the fuel’s cheap. We will have shuttle busses running to the main part of town, but my quess is you’ll come back on the same one you went in on.” (Ok, so I actually did get off the shuttle – I caught the next one back to the ship, 15 minutes later.) (more…)
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